Going Down Hard

by Carly Phillips

  Spencer, looking tan from his time abroad, stepped up and said a few brief words, but nothing that happened next registered.

  Blindsided. Devastated. Hurt. Every one of those words described her after the stunt her father had just pulled. And the sad thing was, he didn’t even know it. When it came to Spencer, her father saw potential if only he helped him. And because Christopher was old-school, if his choice was between his daughter and his son, the male heir won out. Cassie’s qualifications, her dedication, her drive … none of it mattered.

  The day, which had started with such promise, took a nosedive, and she decided she had no desire to sit around and pretend she was happy about their new chairman who understood squat about running his own life, let alone a multimedia company. So as the board members rose from their seats to shake Spencer’s hand, Cassie stood, and not meeting anyone’s gaze, she walked out the door.

  * * *

  The Ark was a bar not far from the office. She called her best friend, Amanda, to meet her after work for some good old-fashioned commiseration. In a few days, she’d have to pull herself together for the meeting with Derek West, but right now she was all about wallowing in her misery.

  The bar was filled with people who came by on their way home from the office, but Cassie had arrived early and snagged a high table and chairs. She always kept a casual set of clothes at the office, and she’d changed before heading out. Since Amanda worked in an easygoing ad agency, she was dressed similarly in jeans and a long-sleeve tee shirt when she arrived.

  “I got here as soon as I could,” Amanda said, sliding into the tall chair and hanging her purse over the side closest to the wall.

  “I appreciate it. What do you want?” Cassie asked as she signaled for a busy waitress. “I waited for you, and now I’m beyond ready for a drink.”

  “A white wine spritzer,” Amanda said to the woman who walked over.

  “A whiskey on the rocks for me, and please put both on my tab.” She waved away Amanda’s open-mouthed, obvious objection. She’d needed this meeting. The least she could do was treat.

  “That bad a day you need hard liquor?” Amanda asked, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear.

  “Worse.”

  Cassie’s grandfather had introduced her to whiskey when she’d turned twenty. No, she hadn’t been legal, but he had been dying. And as he’d explained, she needed to learn to drink with the men if she was going to hold her own. At the time, Cassie thought he was being ridiculous, but over the years, sharing a whiskey with the board members had enabled them to look at her as less delicate and more as one of them. Ridiculous but true.

  Today she felt like she needed something strong—to remind her she was tough despite what had occurred earlier.

  “So spill. I’m here. What happened? Last time we spoke, you were flying high.”

  “Yes, well, that’s the problem with assumptions.”

  The waitress delivered their drinks, and Cassie waited until she could take a long sip and feel the burn down her chest before she said the words out loud.

  “My father turned everything over to Spencer.”

  Amanda blinked. “It’s not April Fools.”

  “And I’m not joking.”

  “What. The. Fuck?” Amanda had known Cassie since they’d met abroad, in Prague, during their junior year of college. They’d gotten close and stayed friends through business school for Cassie and Amanda working her way up in advertising. She was from the Midwest, and she’d come home with Cassie for some holidays, which meant she’d met Spencer.

  Had been hit on by Spencer. Had seen her brother in action more than once. In other words, her reaction was justified by experience.

  “My father started to expound on Storms Consolidated being a family business, and how important it was to keep it in the family, and I was so sure—” Cassie’s voice caught unexpectedly, and she ducked her head, hating the emotional reaction to the announcement.

  Amanda reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “It’s a minor setback. Your brother will screw up in no time, and the company will be yours.”

  “Not how I want to get it. I earned my place. Spencer hasn’t worked a day in his life. I’ll be lucky if there’s a company left when Spencer’s done running it. What was my father thinking?” Cassie finished the drink, knowing that one glass was all she was up to tonight.

  “Listen to me. You can still carry on with your plan to bring the company into this century. You can work around your brother and … I don’t know. Outlast him.”

  “Well, I definitely intend to take the meeting with Derek West and continue the upward trend with the tech side.”

  “Good.” Amanda eyed her with concern. “Are you okay?”

  Cassie swallowed hard. “I will be. I have no choice.”

  “You’re up to the meeting with your hot billionaire?” Amanda asked.

  “He’s not my billionaire.” Even if he was hot.

  She’d seen pictures of him, recent photos, and the boy she’d known had more than filled out. He was now a sexy, self-confident man.

  But she appreciated her friend’s attempt to lighten the mood. Unfortunately, this subject wasn’t any easier. “I told you about our history. I can’t imagine why he agreed to see me now.”

  “Your reputation precedes you? I’m sure he assumes you want an interview, and he knows you’ll do a kick-ass job.”

  That was one way to look at it. Or … “Maybe he figures it’s time to make me pay.”

  Amanda rolled her eyes. “Now who’s being dramatic?”

  Cassie shivered and ran her hands up and down her arms. “I guess I’ll find out soon enough.” Either the week would take a more positive turn or she’d end up feeling even lower than she already was.

  * * *

  Derek West listened to his assistant run through his appointments for the day, but his mind wasn’t on anything but his ten a.m.

  Cassie Storms.

  He’d been shocked when Becky told him she’d called and asked to meet. Derek had thought of her over the years for many reasons, none of them good. The Storms family was responsible for a shit ton of pain and heartache for Derek’s parents, both his father who had passed away, and his mother. Derek had never forgotten.

  And Cassie, well, she’d set the bar for how he viewed rich girls for most of his life. Which made dating complicated since he’d become wealthy himself. It was hard to be himself around women. He didn’t believe that they didn’t want him for his money, and if they were well off, he immediately had his guard up, distrusting what kind of bitchy personality lay beneath the façade they presented to the world.

  Cassie couldn’t have been sweeter the night he’d kissed her, but she’d had no problem humiliating him in front of her friends the very next day. His cheeks still burned with mortification when he thought of it.

  He hadn’t shown up that night as planned, and he hadn’t expected her to be there either. Curiosity had him watching from his bedroom window though, and she had waited for him out by the pool. He couldn’t imagine why, nor did he care. He’d gotten some small consolation knowing she was waiting in vain, maybe feeling an ounce of the humiliation she’d dished out to him.

  As he’d watched her shoulders slump and she seemed to curl in on herself, a part of him had felt bad. Until he’d remembered her friends’ laughter at their cruel comments about him being fuckable but not good enough to take home to their fathers.

  Bitches. He’d turned away from the window and never looked back.

  He’d left for college a few days later, where life had changed. He’d busted his ass on his scholarship and worked jobs to have money to live. But while there, he’d met Kade and Luke, his best friends, his brothers.

  And they’d developed Blink. His life had taken a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn from his poor roots. He’d been too late to help his father, but he’d been able to improve his mother’s life. He just couldn’t bring his father back. Too little, too late, for w
hich he blamed the Storms family.

  These days, Derek considered himself as much an entrepreneur as a technology guru, and he often purchased failing businesses with the goal of either setting them back on their feet or dismantling them and selling off the pieces. Either option worked, whichever made him the most money. So when he’d heard that Storms Consolidated was in trouble, he’d set his sights on acquiring it and put in a generous offer under a shell company name.

  No way would Christopher Storms ever sell his beloved company to his ex-gardener’s son. A man he’d fired after accusing his wife of stealing family jewelry. The son of a woman he’d had arrested. A family he’d turned on after they’d given him years of service, leaving them with no references, no place to live, and no health insurance. The latter was something Derek would never forgive him for.

  Needless to say, he didn’t want to buy the company in order to right the ship. He wanted to run it into the ground and destroy anything with the name Storms. But even with Derek’s name hidden, Christopher Storms had turned down the offer.

  That was fine. Derek had tried to acquire the thing on a lark. A shot at taking the man down, but Derek wasn’t ruled by revenge. If the opportunity came again, he’d give it another chance, but he’d moved on. And then he’d heard from Cassie.

  In the last year, her name started turning up on some damn fine articles on people who ran in Derek’s world. He wasn’t stupid. He figured she wanted to interview him. Many had tried, but he rarely granted access because he didn’t want anyone digging into his family or his past. He was a private man.

  He’d agreed to meet with Cassie out of curiosity. What kind of woman had she become? How far would she go to get what she wanted? Would she beg? He knew the company wasn’t doing well, and an interview with him would be a coup nobody else had succeeded in obtaining. He wouldn’t mind seeing her grovel before he said no.

  Petty? Maybe. Definitely. But he’d looked her up on social media and was still intrigued enough by the woman to want to see her one more time.

  “Derek, you haven’t heard a word I said,” Becky chided. They ran a casual office, first names, jeans and tee-shirts, except for Kade’s wife, who, when she was in the office as his assistant, liked to dress up.

  He shook his head, knowing Becky was right. His head was elsewhere. “Sorry, I have a lot on my mind. But I have a ten o’clock appointment, Cassandra Storms?”

  “Yes.”

  “Please have her wait exactly ten minutes before sending her in.” No reason to see her immediately.

  Let her sweat before they faced each other again.

  Ironically he was the one who sweat when Becky announced Cassie had arrived and he counted down the minutes until ten after the hour. The time ticked past slowly.

  He glanced at his watch. Finally he could get this show going, he thought and rang for Becky to send Cassie in.

  He pushed himself to his feet just as she stepped into his office. He thought he was prepared, but online photos and social media profiles hadn’t done her justice. She’d filled out, her curves more that of a woman than a young girl. Her long brown hair was thick, made for him to wrap around his hand as he tugged her head back and had his way with her, kissing her everywhere.

  She was fucking hot. Sexy and alluring in a way she hadn’t been when she was eighteen. And he was just as attracted to her now as he’d been then. More so, even. That was something for which he hadn’t been prepared.

  “Mr. West, thank you for agreeing to see me,” she said in a slightly deeper voice than he remembered.

  “Ms. Storms.” He strode out from behind his desk to greet her, extending his hand.

  She slid her palm against his, her skin soft and silky, much like he imagined the rest of her would be.

  Shit.

  He needed to maintain control. Be in control. “I admit I was curious why you’d contact me after all these years,”

  “Well, I…” She trailed off, obviously gathering her thoughts. She curled her hands around her clutch purse, showing more nerves than he thought she’d want him to see.

  He took pity on her and gestured to the chairs across from his desk. “Have a seat,” he said and waited for her to settle in.

  She crossed her legs at the ankles and waited. So prim and proper. Such a lady, which only made him want to see her messed up, from his hands in her hair, his mouth on hers.

  He cupped the back of his neck, realizing he’d clearly underestimated her impact. Too bad he knew what lay beneath the cool façade. But he couldn’t tear his gaze from her trembling hands, a nervous gesture that didn’t jibe with the self-confident bitch he thought she’d be.

  If she wasn’t ready to get to the point of this meeting, he was. “I take it you’re interested in me?” he asked.

  Her cheeks flushed at his not-so-subtle innuendo. “Very,” she replied, not missing a beat, her lips lifting in an amused smile.

  And in that second, they were thinking the same thing. He wanted to back her into the wall and kiss her senseless, and from the way her lips parted and a soft breath of air expelled from her lips, she felt the same. The chemistry between them was still strong.

  She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Actually, I thought you might be interested in letting me do a piece about you for Take a Byte,” she said of her online tech magazine.

  He nodded slowly. “I suspected as much. And the truth is, ever since the IPO and Kade’s stint on morning television, I’ve had pressure to do interviews and reveal more about myself. I’ve read your articles on Zuckerberg and Spiegel. You do your research and you’re a fair reporter,” he said.

  She was a talented writer and interviewer. Their awkward past couldn’t diminish that fact.

  Her eyes opened wide in surprise. “Thank you.”

  “I’m just telling you the truth.”

  Her cheeks flushed with pride. “I’ve worked hard to make us relevant again,” she murmured.

  “And you’ve done a great job.”

  “So you’ll let me interview you?” she asked, leaning forward in her seat, her blouse parting, revealing the enticing swell of her breasts.

  His throat went dry. “Unfortunately, no. I don’t do interviews,” he said in a rough voice.

  Instead of her shoulders deflating, she sat up straighter, her determination coming through. “I wish you’d reconsider. I can give it any slant you like. As far as the world is concerned, you’re an enigma. Any coverage will bring in readers.”

  He shook his head. Derek was all about protecting his family, and refusing interviews accomplished that. He didn’t think Cassie would be any more interested in digging into his humble beginnings than he was in disclosing them. Not when it meant revealing that her parents had been his parents’ employers.

  The story was ugly for both of them, as he assumed she knew, and he doubted she’d want her parents’ names dragged into the article by revisiting the past. And though he knew he could get her to focus on his successes, once she published her piece, it was only a matter of time before another journalist dug deeper and discovered more. His father had been through enough.

  “I’m sorry but I can’t.”

  She rose to her feet and met his gaze head on. “So why agree to see me? Did you want to humiliate me in exchange for what I did to you when we were younger?”

  “What? No. That wasn’t it at all.”

  Her shoulders rolled inward. “I wouldn’t blame you any more than I blame you for not wanting to do an interview with me … but there is something I want to say before I go.”

  He raised an eyebrow and waited.

  “I’m sorry,” she blurted out.

  He shook his head, certain he’d heard wrong. “Excuse me?”

  “I’m sorry for what I said all those years ago.” Her cheeks burned not with embarrassment but shame.

  He saw the regret in her eyes, and he could not have been more surprised.

  She twisted her hands anxiously in front of her. “I have no
excuse except that I was young and susceptible to peer pressure. I didn’t mean what I said.”

  “Didn’t you?” His voice came out harsher than he’d intended, and she flinched at his angry tone.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Didn’t you mean what you said? Or are you saying you would have been happy to take me home to your father?”

  Her throat moved up and down. “No. He wouldn’t approve. But I never should have said as much in front of you. And you can believe me or not, but I am sorry. I’ve regretted that day for years.”

  He softened toward her for the first time.

  She shifted and picked her purse up from the floor by her chair. “I see now why the interview is a bad idea. Thank you for hearing me out.” She started for the door, her chin held high.

  He reached out and grabbed her arm. “Cassie, wait,” he said, suddenly struggling between letting go of the anger toward the girl she’d been in the past and forgiving the woman she was now. That woman called to him on a primal, baser level. As a man, he wanted her.

  She turned slowly and glanced down at where his hand remained. “We’re back on first names now?”

  Her skin was so soft beneath his fingers, and he immediately released her. “We are. And I accept your apology.”

  Because her admission humbled her and showed him a side he hadn’t anticipated existed. It gave him pause. Made him want to know more about this enigmatic woman who vacillated between discomfort and calm, embarrassment and confidence.

  “Have dinner with me on Friday,” he said, the words tumbling out before he could think them through.

  “I don’t think so,” she said, glancing down, not meeting his gaze.

  “Why not?” He leaned forward, forcing her to glance up. “You can use the time to try and convince me to change my mind.” He was intrigued by her, her honesty he’d never seen coming. And he desired her too.

  “Why the sudden change of heart?”

  “You pique my interest,” he said honestly. “So what do you say?”